"Sometimes, Sola can make sense," he offered. "She sends her condolences, by the way."

"I appreciate them," Maggie replied softly.

"Would you like me to bring Shazam! over? He would be wonderful company, you know. He absolutely adores you and would certainly keep you distracted," Tom offered. Maggie only shook her head in decline. Shazam! was Tom's five year old Welsh Corgi, a small dog with big ears and an even bigger penchant for cheese and crackers Brigit's favorite snack.

"I don't think Shazam! liked me as much as he liked Brigit. She fed him cheese and crackers every day during that week he stayed with us while you were in Paris," Maggie reflected, allowing a bittersweet smile to alight on her face. "That made them permanent friends."

"It made him p.o.o.p orange for a week is what it did," Tom argued with a laugh. "She could have given him anything besides cheddar! Poor thing," he continued laughing as he shook his head.

It was then that Brigit noticed that Tom's crew cut was fresh. The white line across the nape of his neck peeked up from under his collar like a flash of white light on a darkened day. Upon closer inspection, she noted that his cheeks were overly smooth and his moustache was neatly trimmed. Tom Bennett knew all too well the distaste Mama Dee had possessed over a handsome man failing to maintain his appearance. As a final respect to be paid, Tom Bennett had taken his time in looking respectable today. Brigit wondered briefly if Mama Dee had seen this and appreciated it.

"Well, here you are," Tom announced as they stopped in front of the building where Maggie now resided alone. "If you change your mind about Shazam!, just give me a call. Most likely he'll be with me at the book store," Tom said as he wrapped his arms around Maggie and gave her a strong hug. Maggie only nodded against his broad chest.

"Thank you, Tom," she managed to gasp.

"I'll call you tomorrow," he promised as he finally released her and stood back. Maggie only nodded again. Brigit silently watched on. She was grateful for Tom no matter how odd his friends were.

She stood with Maggie as they watched Tom Bennett walk away. Once he was out of sight, Brigit turned her dark eyes back to Maggie. Maggie looked so tired, Brigit thought. She wondered how her partner would ever recover her sense of happiness and continue living after this. It seemed that Maggie's inner light had been growing fainter over the last few days. Brigit couldn't help but acknowledge the deep concern growing inside her as she watched helplessly.

Once they were inside the apartment, Brigit watched as Maggie stopped in the living room and took a long slow look around. So many memories surrounded her. Was this part of the problem? Maggie sighed heavily and turned to go to the bedroom. Brigit followed silently, wishing there was something she could do or say so that Maggie knew...

Maggie stopped at the bathroom and opened the medicine chest over the sink. Brigit leaned against the door frame and watched her partner take down the brown prescription bottle. They were Brigit's sleeping pills, prescribed during the spring before her accident. She had suffered a serious bout of insomnia with the worry over a large product line her company had been trying to launch before the new buying season was to begin. The stress of the deadlines had been keeping Brigit awake for days on end, causing extreme exhaustion. Maggie had not thrown out the prescription that Brigit had forgotten about after the insomnia had finally been conquered. Brigit watched as Maggie shook two of the pills from the container and then paused. The thought pa.s.sed quickly through her dark brown eyes, but not so quick that Brigit had been unable to see it. Her heart lurched as she read it clearly. Maggie's sadness was so overwhelming that she had given thought to taking enough of the sleeping pills to make sure she would sleep forever...

"No, just take two," she said. "Two is enough."

Maggie sighed again and plopped the two pills into her mouth before replacing the cap on the bottle and returning it to the medicine chest. Brigit sighed in relief before following Maggie to the bedroom. She watched as her partner stretched out on the bed. Silently, Maggie reached for the picture on the table. Brigit thought she heard the sound of another crack forming in Maggie's heart as she gazed at the photo in the frame.

"You're not alone, sweetheart," Brigit said quietly, even though she knew Maggie couldn't hear her.

"Brigit?"

The sound of Maggie's voice shocked Brigit.

"Brigit? If it's you, let me know, please," Maggie asked out loud, closing her eyes although she spoke. "Move something, say something. Just let me know you're here," she pleaded.

Silently, Brigit crossed the room and stood beside the bed. Maggie's body was relaxing. The sleeping pills were working quickly. Slowly, Brigit reached out and touched her partner's cheek. It was warm beneath her fingertips. Suddenly, a sob escaped Maggie, but Brigit was unsure whether it was from relief or deep sadness.

"It's okay, sweetheart," Brigit cooed.

"Why did you have to leave me?" Maggie sobbed heavily.

"I didn't mean to, Mags. It was an accident. Can you really hear me?"

"Yes," Maggie answered, struggling to control her grief.

Brigit sank down onto the edge of the bed and watched Maggie intently. She was relaxing more and more despite her grief's violent ripples. The sleeping pills were obviously still potent after all this time. Maggie would be asleep soon. Brigit realized that this was her opportunity to communicate with her lover. She was in the between realms of sleep and lucidity. Maggie's mind was opened. She would be able to hear Brigit clearly with being caught between the two realms. Suddenly, there was so much that Brigit wanted to tell her.

"I'm still with you, baby girl," Brigit finally said, pushing Maggie's curly brown hair back from her face. "I haven't broken my promise. I'm not really gone."

"I miss you, so much, Bree," Maggie sighed. "Sometimes, I believe I can still feel you holding me at night. It hurts so badly to wake up in the morning. I just want to be with you."

"Not yet, Mags. It's not time. You're still alive. You need to keep living, sweetheart. There's a life waiting for you. You need to find it," Brigit urged quietly.

"I had a life with you with you," Maggie argued.

"I know. I'm still with you. I'll always be with you. I won't let anything happen to you," Brigit promised. She could feel Maggie's energy beginning to wane. She could also feel Maggie beginning to struggle against the sleep that was beginning to overpower her.

"I love you, Bree," Maggie slurred.

"I love you, too, baby. Go to sleep now. It's okay. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere yet. I'll stay," Brigit cooed. As if to reinforce her promise, she stretched out behind Maggie and wrapped her arms around her. In response, Maggie scooted her body closer intent on feeling Brigit completely wrapped around her.

"Tomorrow, I want you to throw the pills away," Brigit whispered as she felt the last weight of sleep settle on Maggie. A sleepy and unintelligible reply was heard before the first deep breath came that signaled Maggie's submission to that which had been eluding her for days now. She was asleep.

31: The Ire of Mr. Flannery

He flicked the stub of his cigarette to the street and reached inside his jacket for the crumpled pack he kept in the breast pocket. His green eyes were trained on the building across the street. He had seen them enter it earlier. He wasn't concerned about their re-emergence from it, however. Considering the fact that they hadn't come out yet, Seamus was sure beyond doubt that this was their residence. He felt his stomach beginning to churn with the thought of Brigit Malone playing house with her Maggie. Their lives were an abomination. They should have been straightened out a long time ago...but I have a bigger bone to pick with her, Seamus mused as he struck a match from the worn book of them he kept in his pocket and touched the flame to the tip of the cigarette between his lips.

He had been less than amused when told that Brigit Malone would be returning to the firm. He had overestimated John's sense of fairness in the matter. Obviously, the head Reaper had more of a soft spot for the woman than Seamus had realized. It irked him that she would be allowed back to her post after such negligence. Oh well Oh well, Seamus thought, all is fair in war all is fair in war...

And it was war, he determined as he stared hard at the building. Brigit Malone had betrayed him. The icing on the cake had come when John Blackwick had entered his office and demanded the tokens of his conquests. She had tattled on him like a schoolgirl in pigtails. He had won those souvenirs fairly. To have them taken from him was just one more thing to stoke the fires of his ire. She had caused something to be taken from him. He would simply have to find something to take from her...

Inhaling deep on the new cigarette, Seamus turned and began to walk away. There were plans to be made, a scheme to be hatched. He needed to begin a.s.sembling the cast for their parts in his play. Brigit Malone would learn her lesson. Seamus was set hard on that.

32: The Heaviness of it All

She awoke slowly. As she rolled her head to the side, Maggie noticed the heaviness of it. It was a side affect of the sleeping pills she had taken, she knew. She remembered Brigit's complaint of the same sensation the next morning after taking them. Now, as she focused her gaze on the clock quietly ticking on the bedside table, Maggie wondered if she should have taken them at all.

She had needed the sleep, though. It had been a rough week and the state of sleep had kept its borders closed to her.

Slowly, Maggie pushed herself up into a sitting position and sighed. It was more than her head that felt heavy. Her whole body felt heavy. She came to the conclusion that it was no wonder that Brigit had stopped taking the pills after only a few nights...

Another deep sigh escaped Maggie. After so many months, her thoughts still seemed to revolve around Brigit. Her dreams contained images of memories, imaginations that Brigit was still present even though Maggie was well aware that she would never see Brigit walking though the door and announcing that she was finally home. That particular weight bore down on her brain the heaviest of all. Brigit had promised forever and that promise had been broken.

Or had it?

Maggie's attention drifted to the framed picture of Brigit that sat beside the quietly ticking clock. She had tried to remove the visual reminders, yet, she had come home that day and found this one particular reminder returned to its place. Then, there had been the awful fight with Lorena Rubens where Maggie had been sure she had heard Brigit's voice telling Lorena to leave. That had been followed by the scuffle with an unseen force that had ended with Lorena's ejection from the apartment. Maggie had thought she had imagined it all. She had been sure Lorena had just been overly hysterical in her departure. At least, that was what Maggie had tried to convince herself of in the following days. It was far easier to believe that scenario than the idea of Brigit's ghost hanging around.

Yet, as she thought of it now, she remembered hearing Brigit's voice again. It had been just a few moments before she crossed the lines into deep sleep. Brigit's voice had been so clear... What had she said? Maggie began to fight hard against the fog left by the sleeping pills for the short exchange she could now remember having with her lover during those moments between lucidity and sleep.

It was an accident...

I'm still with you...

I haven't broken my promise...

I love you too...

The next sound to escape Maggie was not a sigh, but rather, a sob a deep and painful sob that rode on the clarity of the words she had heard before falling into the deepest sleep she had experienced since before the night Brigit had been killed. The sob released her. It freed her from the weight she had been carrying quietly. Her tears flowed in a torrent over her cheeks as she gave way to the freedom from the heaviness that had been sitting on her heart all these months.

Brigit had never and would never lie to her. In the end, Maggie now had the feeling, Brigit was keeping her promise.

33: The Break

Brigit had returned to the office as promised after spending a few more days watching over Maggie. To her surprise, the office was empty. As she searched the smaller offices, she felt her confusion growing. She had expected to, at the least, find John there with the hope of being given some a.s.signments right away so that she could get back into the swing of things.

Yet, the offices were empty...

"I could use a cup of coffee anyway," she said out loud as she turned out of John's office and began to walk back to the main entrance of 666 Bleecker Street. It was a true thought. She had not had any coffee in almost a month now and the thought of a cup of Giuseppe's brew had suddenly become quite the craving within her.

She was surprised to see them all there. John, Belinda, Seamus and Mama Dee had occupied a large table in the middle of the cafe. They were conversing cheerfully; Brigit noted as she entered the cafe and exchanged a nodded greeting with Edmund J. Polly. John was the first to see her come in.

"Brigit! Good, we were just wondering if you would find us," he greeted. "Come, join us."

"Here, baby, sit next to me," Mama Dee instructed as she began to scoot her own seat closer to Belinda.

Brigit caught the firmness of her friend's tone and obediently stepped to take the s.p.a.ce Mama Dee had indicated. Seamus Flannery was sitting across the table. Mama Dee, Brigit guessed, was just being protective even though Brigit was sure the old woman knew nothing of the strained relationship she shared with Seamus. If Mama was aware of it, she had not heard it from Brigit.

"What is everyone doing here?" Brigit asked as a large hand bearing a large mug suddenly glided over her shoulder. The aroma that greeted her senses made her smile as she looked up into the face of Giuseppe Cincotta.

"Welcome back," he greeted in his deep baritone voice.

"Thank you, Giuseppe," Brigit replied.

"We decided to take a break," Belinda piped up in response to Brigit's question. "John says we're close to catching up and we deserved a break."

"Aye," Seamus added as he eyed Brigit. "We've been working like mad to make up for the shortage of staff." Brigit paused in mid-sip of her coffee to meet his glare. He had oiled his words carefully, but she had caught their meaning all the same.

"I apologize for the inconvenience my absence may have caused you, Mr. Flannery," Brigit said evenly.

She had hoped for more sarcasm, but in a way, she was glad it came out as it did. It was a blanket apology for everything. There would be no fight today. Seamus flinched slightly with her reply. It was barely a movement, but Brigit had seen it and she saw the fires of anger light in the Irishman's emerald eyes. He knew she had seen it.

"I think I need to get back to work," Seamus suddenly said after a few seconds of uncomfortable silence danced in the s.p.a.ce between them.

"What? I thought you said you were caught up for the day?" Belinda protested as Seamus rose from his chair. Brigit looked at the girl as she detected notes of disappointed surprise in her voice.

"I just remembered something," Seamus lied. "I'll see ye back at the office," he muttered before stalking out of the cafe. Belinda looked down into the contents of the cup before her. Disappointment shone clearly on her face though she remained silent.

"At any rate," John finally spoke, acting as though they were resuming a conversation that had been rudely interrupted. "How are things with you?"

"Everything is fine," Brigit answered. "So, we're really close to being caught up? What happened with the Bailey?"

Brigit listened intently as John related the going ons of the office during her absence. Seamus had returned to reaping the harder a.s.signments that were his department. The Bailey had been put on strict orders to deliver the new files himself every evening. Brigit felt Mama Dee shudder beside her and looked at her friend in questioning confusion.

"I don't like him him," Mama responded. Brigit suppressed the urge to laugh out loud before returning her attention to John.

"I'm hoping that if he is delivering our workload himself that it will slow him down and give us the opportunity to catch up not to mention beginning to lay the foundations for new offices around the world," John explained.

"I can see the logic in that," Brigit agreed. "And what about you, Belinda? How do you like the firm?" Her former protege looked up from the contents of her mug and shrugged in half-reply.

"It's cool," she said somewhat apathetically. Brigit left her attention on Belinda as John lauded the young woman's accomplishments over the last month. Belinda had secured the new and permanent position as the official record keeper of Reaper's, Inc. The praise, Brigit noted, seemed not to affect the Goth girl as she let her bright blue eyes return to the contents of her cup.

"What are you drinking?" Brigit asked when John had finished talking.

"Hot cocoa," Belinda sighed.

"John," Brigit formed the question in her mind and the head Reaper immediately nodded in agreement. Without another word, he scooped Belinda's cup from the table and headed to the bar to refill it for her. Surprised, Belinda looked after him and then to the two women that were looking back at her in earnest.

"Why did he do that?"

"I asked him to," Brigit replied. "What's going on with you?"

"Nothing, why? And how did you ask him to? You didn't say anything I didn't hear you say anything," Belinda pointed out.

"Don't change the subject," Brigit instructed.

"You have been acting all melancholy lately. Mr. John, he gives you a pat on the back and you just shrug it off," Mama Dee pointed out. "I think you're distracted by something."

"I'm not distracted," Belinda denied.

"Belinda, we're not jumping on your case," Brigit said gently. "We're concerned. Sometimes, a girl just needs to talk it out."

"I think she's in love," Mama Dee declared, before picking up her own coffee cup.

"I am not," Belinda suddenly looked surprised at the old woman's accusation. The slight blush rising in her pale cheeks betrayed her.